Where Your Heart Belongs
by Ashley7417
Summary: Courtney lost everything that mattered in her life. When she moves to Port Charles to be with her sister Carly she wonders if she can put the memories of her past behind her and find the life she should have had before fear mad her run. Will everyone in her life be supportive as she tries to find where her heart belongs?


Type: Alternate Reality/Romance

Summary: Courtney has lost everything important in her life. Now she must go to Port Charles and relive the life, memories and people she left so long ago. How will everyone react when she comes back with the secrets that she has? Will she ever find out Where Her Heart Belongs?

Prologue:

Courtney sat in the front row beside their family and close friends crying. She had just lost her husband and both of her children to a car accident. She was completely devastated. She had lost her world in a matter of minutes. As she goes up to the caskets to give her husband and children one last good bye; the thoughts of that day start running through her head as she places one last Rose in each of their hands.

 _Flashback_

 _She was with her family the day that it happened. Her husband and their two children were in the car waiting for her to come out of the store. They had stopped at a convince store on their way to her mother in law's house for a Sunday visit. Courtney was standing at the counter with the drinks she had purchased. It all happened so fast that she barely had time to scream; a semi-truck came crashing toward the storefront with no sign of slowing down. Before she knew what had happened the paramedics were carrying her away. She got away with a few cuts on her face and bruises on her body, but her beloved husband and the children she gave life were not so lucky. They were pronounced DOA._

 _End Flashback_

So now here she was putting her husband and two children in the ground on the same day. Her whole life was falling apart and she could only think of one place to go. She quietly thought to herself that she would call the airline first thing the next morning and book her flight. There was nothing left for her here anymore so she would do the next logical thing, at least in her mind at the time, and go back to her old life, her secret life.

Chapter 1:

As Courtney said goodbye to her mother and father the next day she told them that she was going to go back to New York and live with her sister. They both new who she was talking about, her parents had found her sister 10 years ago after they had found out that Courtney's father had had another daughter from a relationship he had when he was in the military before they got together. Courtney had lived with her sister before in California while he sister was in college so it was no surprise to them that Courtney would go live with her and form the sisterly bond both girls longed for. "Mom, Dad, I need to do this, I have nothing left here, without Mark and the kids. I need time to grieve, away from all the memories here. I need to find a way to put my life back together." She told her parents as she hugged her father. When she turned to hug her mother, she said" Courtney if that is what you want, we will support you. Are you sure there is where you want to go? " She said, pleading with Courtney one last time to stay. "Yea mom, I know what I am doing. I love my sister and now that I don't have anything holding me here I can go to New York and once I pick up the pieces maybe have the life I could've had."

With that said Courtney gave her parents one last hug and kiss and waked through the terminal to board the plane. She quickly found her seat and put her carryon bag in the compartment above her head. She buckled herself into her seat and looked out the window as the plane left the ground. She wondered if she would ever be happy again. She was determined to make the most of this second chance she felt like she'd been given. As much as she loved her husband and children she longed for more in her life. As she rested her head on the back of her seat she silently prayed she would find it.

Sonny & Carly's Penthouse:

"Sonny, I just got a call from my little sister. She is on her way up here and I think she's planning on staying. She said something terrible had happened and she had to get away. She thought that here with me was the best place she could be, but she didn't say why." Just as Carly had finished her last sentence Sonny's right-hand man had walked through the door. His name was Jason Morgan and he had been in the business for over 10 yrs. His father had run most of New York until his death, then in his father's will he gave the business to Sonny, his right-hand man. So ever since Jason was 18 this is where he'd been at Sonny's beck and call. Except for 2 and a half years when Jason left town and no one knew where he was.

Carly had met Sonny when she was in New York 6 yrs. ago singing in a night club. Little did she know at the time that it was Sonny's club. They talked for hours and went on their first date the following weekend. They have been inseparable ever since. Carly decided to give up on a singing career and went into business with Sonny running the club. She loved it so much she now has a string of 15 clubs in New York and Manhattan. They have no children because of the danger of Sonny's business, and Carly would rather have it that way, She's not the motherly type.

Courtney sighed at the sight of New York, it almost took her breath away. It was so beautiful and it held so much possibility for her that she couldn't help but stare at the magnificent lights in amazement. She took a cab into the small town of Port Charles. She couldn't wait to see what this small town had in store for her. She knew this town had been good to her sister, she was hoping it would be the same for her. As the driver pulled up in front of Harbor View Towers she sighed, paid the driver and got out with her luggage. As she got on the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor, her phone rang.

"Hello." Courtney said as she juggled her phone and purse in one hand. 'We have some business to discuss." The man on the other end told her. "What would that be?" She asked intrigued. "I haven't been childless and a widow for more than a few days and you're already wanting me to come back to work?" She asked, kind of annoyed. "You are in need of employment? Are you not? Why not do something you already know how to do? You can be the grieving widow, taking all the time, you need to heal, while still making money. Correct? No one knows you in this town except your sister and we both know she won't say anything given the circumstances." The man told her. Sighing into the phone so he would know she was slightly annoyed at his timing. "Fine, what is it that you are needing done?" She asked. " There is a woman that needs to be taken care of and I know I can count on you to get the job done discreetly." He told her. "You do realize I haven't done anything like this in over 10 years right. I'm pretty sure I'm rusty as hell. I don't even have any of the equipment I would need, but I will need money soon so doing this one job should be no problem. As long as we have the understanding that given the circumstances this will be my last job for you." She told him, making sure to get her point across." Good. I am needing this done as soon as possible. There is another man after this woman as we speak and I want to be the one to take the credit for what happens to her. You will find everything you will need to carry out this job in a package that is already at your sisters' penthouse." He told her. "Confident, are we?" She asked him smugly. "Better to hide in plain sight. No one expects anything that way. It just looks as if you sent some of your things ahead of time. Instructions will be emailed to you as soon as we hang up. Have a good visit with your sister. Call me when it's done. "He said as he hung up the phone. Sighing she put her phone in her purse as the email came though.

Meanwhile at Sonny's Penthouse

"Jason, we have to take care of Faith now!" Sonny told him rather aggravated. "K, I'm on it. I'll get it done, don't worry." He walked out the door and across the hall to his penthouse to get everything together to work that evening. Just as Jason shut the door to his penthouse the elevator door opened. Courtney stepped out and looked around the hallway. She spotted Johnny standing by a door to an apartment. She walked over to him and smiled. "Is this the Corinthos Penthouse?" "Yes, it is, may I ask who wants to know? He asked smiling back at her. "Courtney Mathews, I'm Carly's sister." "I'll let Mrs. Corinthos know you're here." He said as he peaked his head in the door to tell Carly Courtney had arrived. "Thanks." She said as she waited for him to open the door so she could enter her sister's house. "Mr. and Mrs. Corinthos will see you now. You can go ahead and go on in." "Courtney!" Carly screamed as her sister walked through the door. "It's so good to see you, my god it's been way to long." "Yea I know, but you know how it is when life gets in the way." Courtney told her as she pulled her sister into a hug. "That it does. Something always seems to be happening with us." She said as she pointed to her husband. Sonny finally walked over and shook Courtney's hand. "It's so good to finally meet you." "Nice to meet you to. I've heard a lot about you, at least when you and Carly first got together I did. We've kind of lost touch over the last few years." Courtney told him. "Well it's nice to have you here now. And you're welcome to stay as long as you want." "Thanks, I was actually going to make sure it was ok if I stayed until I find something of my own? If it's a big deal I can get a hotel. I know I'm asking a lot by just dropping in on you like this." Courtney said a little nervous now that she hadn't planned this a little bit better. "You know it's no problem. Your welcome to stay here as long as you want." Carly told her as she grabbed her sister's luggage to have Jonny take upstairs to the guestroom. "Thank you, I really appreciate everything that you're doing for me even after all these years." Courtney said as she hugged her sister again. "I hate to say this, but I have some business to take care of before I can start unpacking. Courtney told both Carly and Sonny. Sonny looked just a bit puzzled. "You just got to town. What could you possibly have to do?" "I saw a couple help wanted signs on my way over here and want to get a jump on a job. Savings only lasts so long Sonny." She felt horrible for lying to him but was surprised at how easy it came to her. Carly pulled Courtney aside out of ear shot from Sonny. "You're not going to go do what I think you are you?" Carly asked concerned. "If you must know Carly, yes I am. I got a call from Alcazar when I was on the elevator up here. I'm going to do this one job and then I'm out. I can't very well work for Alcazar and have Sonny as a brother in law. It would be like working for the competition." Courtney giggled. "As long as this is the last job Courtney, I don't want to see you get hurt. Alcazar is one of Sonny's worst enemies and it wouldn't be in your best interest working for him if Sonny finds out. "Yes, this will be the last job Carly, Alcazar already knows we are sisters, and when have you ever known me to get hurt? She said rolling her eyes at her sister. "That's why he wants me to do this job tonight. His one last big play to try to get Sonny's attention before he loses me and has to find someone else again. I think he thinks I'll go to work for Sonny so this one job may give him the clout to move on and go elsewhere. I doubt Alcazar will be a problem for Sonny after tonight." Courtney said, assuring her sister she had nothing to worry about. "well then if you insist on going, you may need this." Carly said handing her sister the box that had arrived earlier with Courtney's name on it. "I figured this was sent to you since you wouldn't have had time to send anything ahead. Although sonny doesn't' know that." Carly told her, trying to let Courtney know she didn't like keeping things from her husband. "Thanks, see you later Carly." Courtney said as she hugged her sister. "Be careful" Carly said returning the hug. "I will. I'll see you later." Courtney waved at Sonny as she walked out the door.

She got to the elevator and let out a big sigh. Getting in the elevator she said to herself, "I hope I can pull this off." She reached into the box and started assembling the equipment she would need for the job that evening. Starting with placing the silencer on the 9mm Glock she held in her hands. Hailing a cab outside the building that was now her temporary home Courtney read the directions on her phone. Once she was sure of where she was going she gave the directions to the cab driver.

PC Hotel

Jason waited in the closet for Faith to come back to her room. He was finishing going over in his head how he was going to pull this off. Just as he was about to go over the plan in his head one more time the door to the room started to open. He held his breath and readied his gun.

Courtney stood outside the door to the hotel room that Alcazar had given her. She was thinking quickly about what she was going to do once she picked the lock on the door. Just then she heard a noise in the hallway so she hid behind the plant in the corner. She saw a blonde lady very well-dressed walk towards the room and get out a key card. The woman unlocked the door and stepped inside. Courtney took a deep breath and bolted for the door before it could close, gun drawn and ready.

Jason realized that Faith had entered the room, e took a deep breath and opened the cracked open the closet door, his gun aimed in his hand and shot right at Faith before she knew what hit her.

Courtney, with her foot propping the door open, took aim at Faith as she turned, realizing the door hadn't closed behind her, and shot Faith right between the eyes. Perfect shot. Faith collapsed on the bed and was dead with the shots in her head. Courtney and Jason both let out a sigh of relief that the job was done. They hadn't even noticed the other one in the room until they heard one anther sigh.

They both looked up and couldn't believe what they saw...

Jason looked up and saw what he believed to be a woman wearing a ski mask. Courtney on the other hand knew exactly who she was looking at, who could forget those piercing blue eyes. Not ready to face him yet, she turned and ran as fast as she could out of the room. The combination of adrenaline and emotions she felt was too much for her. She bolted down the same stairwell she had come up and ripped off her mask, not able to breath and stuffed it in the bag at the bottom of the stairs before running out into the night air. Finally, able to catch her breath she decided to walk back to Sonny and Carly's. Maybe by then her heart rate would return to normal.

Jason just stood there in awe. He could've sworn he recognized those eyes. But it couldn't have been, he hadn't seen those eyes in such a long time. He tried to find her, of course, but after she left it was almost as though she disappeared off the face of the earth. Jason left the room quickly leaving no traces behind and went to find Sonny. He had to know who that woman was.

Sonny's Penthouse

Courtney walked in like nothing had happened. Carly was the only one there, Sonny was out on business. "Hey you ok?" Carly asked as Courtney plopped herself down on the couch beside her sister. "Yea I'm fine, everything is fine." She told Carly. Trying to make herself believe it as well. She just couldn't get the image of those eyes to quit burning a hole in her memory again. Now I should call Alcazar and tell him that it's done. Be right back." "Are you sure he won't want you to do anymore for him? I don't get into sonny's business much, but from what I do know, alcazar hasn't had the same power he did when you worked for him. Maybe he will want that again?" Carly said concerned. "He knows that this is it. I told him on the phone before that this was the last job. Even he's not so stupid as to think Sonny's sister in law will work for him." Courtney walked up the stairs to call Alcazar and tell him it was done. Just then Jason walked in the door looking for Sonny. "Hey Carly, where is Sonny?" "He went to the warehouse to check on things, I guess. Why, what's wrong?" Carly asked raising an eyebrow at the obviously shaken Jason. Jason never gets shaken. "Nothing, I just had a problem with the assignment that he gave me. I'll go and see if I can catch him at the warehouse.' Jason leaves shutting the door behind him, he had a sense that she was around but he thought that was just wishful thinking and his memories creeping up on him again, so he blew it off and went to go find Sonny.

Courtney was still upstairs on the phone with Alcazar. "It's done." She told him with a bit of pride in her voice. She was still pleased with herself that after all these years she could still pull a job like this off. "Good." He replied. "There was a bit of a snag though. Jason saw me. Well, he didn't see me enough to identify me but he knows someone else was there too." She told him. "It will be fine. They will never be able to figure out it was you. Even if they do, you are Sonny's sister in law, he would never hurt family. At least it's done. Now I can finish what I've set out to do and not have Corinthos on my tail." Alcazar told her. "What exactly are you planning to do?" She tried to ask but he cut her off. "That's none of your concern. Where would you like your payment sent Ms. Matthews? Then our business will be finished. I'm leaving town so even Mr. Corinthos won't have to worry about me anymore." Courtney told him where she wanted the money wired and bid him farewell and hung up the phone. He had made things easy for her to get out. Just like she knew he would.

Courtney walked down the stairs and asked Carly who was at the door? "Oh, that was Jason, Sonny's business partner. Him and Sonny should be back in a bit so you can meet Jason then." "Oh, ok. That will be great, it will be nice to know someone else that knows what it's like, to do what I did for so long." The whole time she was talking to Carly she kept thinking about him and wondering if it was the same Jason that Carly was talking about. No, it couldn't be, the last she had seen him had been in California, doing business for his father. She would find him one day and explain things to him, she would one day explain things to Carly too, but tonight was not the time. She had a lot of explaining to do to Carly. Why she left so suddenly while they lived in California? Why she forced Carly to lie to their father for almost 3 years before returning home to him. Without giving Carly any explanation for her 3-year absence. That is the main reason their relationship has been so strained to the point of almost nonexistent for the last 10 years.

A week had passed since Courtney arrived in Port Charles, she was finally starting to feel like herself again. It was nice to get to know her sister again. Carly had kept her busy shopping and going to her clubs in Manhattan and NYC but Courtney enjoyed every minute of it. She was really enjoying the bonding time, they were finally starting to act like normal sisters, it was just what Courtney needed.

Carly had said that Sonny was planning to cook dinner for them that night to formally welcome Courtney to the family so they were shopping for new dresses. Courtney had decided that that night at dinner she was going to tell Carly and Sonny about everything, her husband and kids' accident and apologize to Carly for making her lie, and finally tell her the reasons why. Courtney was nervous about the dinner because Carly had said that Jason was coming too. He wanted to meet Carly's sister, since he and Carly were best friends. Business had kept Jason away for that whole week but he was due home that evening. He was busy trying to find out who the woman was that shot Faith and what she wanted with Sonny Carly had told her. Little did he know she had been right under his nose this whole time. Courtney smiled at the thought. He and Sonny running around like chickens with their heads cut off looking for a woman who was right under their noses. It made Courtney feel good knowing she was truly still that good. Carly had laughed to herself every time she caught Sonny and Jason talking about finding the woman. Carly knew all to well the one thing you don't do is rat out family.

"Oh my gosh Courtney, that dress is beautiful on you. You have to get it!" That was the same thing that Carly had said about the last 20 dresses that Courtney had tried on. "Are you sure? I mean I don't want to look to formal, after all this is just a simple dinner at home with you and my brother-in-law. Right?" Courtney asked. Knowing her sister all to well and knew that she was not above scheming when she thought she had a clever idea. Carly was sure that it would be far from a simple dinner, if she had anything to do with it. She was scheming one of her plans. She was bound and determined to get Courtney and Jason together if it was the last thing she did. Her sister wanted a new life and she was going to se to it that she got one. Not sure how to broach the subject of her sister being a "enforcer" to her husband, she would start with Courtney's love life. There wasn't anything wrong with her at least dating. She seemed to be handling her loss well.

Finally, after 4 hrs. of trying on dresses Courtney and Carly finally agreed on a dress for Courtney. It was a blue dress that went over one of Courtney's shoulders and low cut on the other side. It was mid length and had sequins all over the body of the dress with a flowing skirt that went just below Courtney's knees. She looked absolutely stunning in it.

Sonny's penthouse

Jonny let Jason through the door to talk to Sonny. Sonny looked up from the drink that he was pouring himself at the bar and asked Jason, "So have you found anything?" "No, not really, the only thing we know is that it was defiantly a woman, but it's like she was just plucked out of thin air. There's no record of who she is or who she works for." "I don't believe that! Sonny said as he slammed his glass against the wall and Scotch splattered everywhere. "There has to be record of her somewhere. A bank account, driver's license, something." "No Sonny there's nothing. I've got Marco and Jonny working on it but so far, they've came up empty handed. We'll find her Sonny, don't worry, we'll find out who she is." Sonny decided there was no sense in dwelling on what couldn't be helped tonight and changed the subject. "You're still coming to dinner, right? Carly really wants you to meet her sister." He said smiling. "Yea I'll be here. I need to go change first though. You don't think Carly is scheming up one of her plans to try to get me with her sister do you." He smiled already knowing the answer. "Of course, I do, that is why she took Courtney shopping today." Sonny replied. "Alright." Jason said rubbing his hands over his face. "I'll be here at 7 then" Jason said as he left to go change for dinner.

As Jason walked across the hall to his own penthouse he couldn't help thinking of those eyes, that Carly's sister was in new in town, and now they have this new female threat. It couldn't be the same woman, it couldn't be the same spitfire that walked out on him 7 yrs., ago could it? He hadn't seen her since their last night together. He woke up the next morning to find a note on the living room table and all her things gone. He had come back to New York shortly after, having completed his assignment there and pushed the memories of her to the back of his mind. He knew what they had, how he felt, hell, how he would always feel about her. He shook the memories from his head as he went to get a quick shower and changed for dinner. Somehow, he knew that this was going to be a very interesting evening, he didn't know why he felt that way, but he did.

Courtney and Carly both took at least 2 hrs. getting ready for dinner. The butterflies in Courtney's stomach were almost too much for her to suppress. She knew telling her sister about the reasons she made her lie and then telling them both about her husband and kids could possibly change everything. Finally, both women emerged from upstairs and Sonny was completely breath taken looking at both women walking down the stairs towards him. He grabbed his wife in a loving embrace and kissed her lightly on the lips. Then he took his sister-in-law's hand and kissed it gently. "Your both look absolutely amazing. You defiantly have to be sisters, you're the two most beautiful women in the world." "Sonny, stop your making us blush." Carly looked over at Courtney and her face was beat red too. At that moment Courtney knew that if she didn't tell them the reason that brought her here she would never do it. "Hey guys before we eat there is something that I have to tell you. It's about the reasons that I'm here."

Jason's Penthouse

Just as Jason was about to walk out the door and over to Carly and Sonny's his cell phone rang. "Hello." "Hey Jase, we finally got the information on that girl you requested." Marco told him. "Ok what is it?" "Well she is an old hit man...woman for Lorenzo Alcazar. She was in the business with him for about 2 years until she basically just up and vanished. There are no records of this woman after she stopped working for Alcazar. There's no record of her before or after her working for him sir. It's like she just existed for those couple of years then vanished. "Well that is all very interesting information, but did you get a name?" Jason asked. "Yes sir, we did. It's...Brianna Christine Allison. Jason almost dropped the phone after what Marco had told him. Hearing the rustling of the phone on the other end Marco asked, "Everything alright sir? Do you know her?" "Don't worry Marco, I'll take care of it." Jason said as he hung up the phone and headed over to Sonny's.

Because Courtney was so insistent Carly and Sonny both sat on the couch and waited for Courtney to speak. "The reason I'm here is because I lost some people very close to me and I didn't want to be there anymore." Tears well up in her eyes as she starts to remember what had happened that tragic night that she lost her world.

 _Flashback_

 _She was with her family the day that it happened. Her husband and their two children were in the car waiting for her to come out of the store. They had stopped at a convince store on their way to her mother in law's house for a Sunday visit._ Courtney _was standing at the counter with the drinks she had purchased. It all happened so fast that she barely had time to scream; a semi-truck came crashing toward the storefront with no sign of slowing down. Before she knew what had happened the paramedics were carrying her away. She got away with a few cuts on her face and bruises on her body, but her beloved husband and the children she gave life were not so lucky. They were pronounced DOA._

 _End Flashback_

Courtney stopped crying long enough to get Sonny and especially Carly's reaction to what she had just told them. "Oh my God sweetie! Why didn't you ever tell me?" "I knew if I told you about him and the kids that you would want to be a part of their lives and with Sonny's business, knowing it's danger all too well, I didn't want that. "I'm really sorry about your family Courtney, but how do you have any idea about the danger of my business. I run a coffee warehouse. There's no danger in that." Sonny told her. "Well there's more to my past then just my husband and the kids that I might as well tell you since I'm sharing secrets." Carly held her breath, knowing that Courtney was going to tell Sonny about her work. However, she surprised her and took the story in a completely different direction. Courtney sighed and started to tell them about the best 2 and a half years of her life. She wiped the tears away and began to tell them about something that no one knew, not her parents, Carly, or any government entity outside of the state of California. No one knew the best thing that ever happened to her, the reason she made Carly lie for all those years sacrificing their relationship, and she left it all." I met a man who said he could give me a job. Carly, remember, that's around the same time we were in California. "Yes, I do. Why?" "Well that's when this all happened. He wanted me to gather information on a man who was in California tracking him. I followed this guy for like 2 weeks before he noticed me. Thinking I was interested in him he asked me out. Caught up with his piercing blue eyes I foolishly accepted. We were inseparable after that. Six months into our relationship he asked me to marry him. I said yes. I went to my boss and told him what had happened. He shocked the hell out of me and let me leave. He paid me well for my time and my services and I didn't hear from him again." Trying to spare Sonny with the boring details, at least until later, she stopped talking. "Has this man tried to contact you at all since you left?" Sonny asked. Carly knowing the answer, got up from her seat and walked over and poured herself a drink. Carly had known about the business Courtney was in, that's part of the reason she became involved with Sonny, the business didn't scare her. So, this guy is the reason that Courtney left and made me lie to dad and disappeared, she thought to herself. "Courtney why didn't you ever tell me? Instead you made me lie to dad and your mom that you were fine, just busy with school too. When in fact you ran off, got married and went into hiding." "I didn't think you would approve of him. He was a hitman for his father Carly, his father running an organization other than the one I was working for. We had to run off, you know as well as I do now that doing something like we did would almost certainly mean one of us would pay with our life. I had changed my name for business so that was the name I kept. No one knew I was who I am." Just as Courtney was about to tell them the rest of the story there was a knock at the door.

Courtney jumped when she heard the knock on the door and she didn't know why, but she suddenly became very nervous. The door opened and Jonny announced Jason. As Jason walked through the door Courtney looked to see who was coming in from her spot on the couch. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Were her eyes playing tricks on her? No, she knew she was fully awake so it couldn't have been a dream. She couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Her hands started shaking so badly that she dropped her glass on the floor. The sound of the glass shattering on the hardwood floor brought her back to reality. It was in fact Jason Morgan standing in front of her.

Jason walked through the door prepared to tell Sonny everything that Marco had just told him. But he was stopped dead in his tracks by who he saw sitting on Sonny's couch staring at him. There she was, after all these years, sitting right in front of him on his best friends' couch. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe and his hands were shaking. He wasn't sure what to do. For the first time in years Jason Morgan was rattled. He wanted so badly to rush to her and hold her in his arms but he was afraid to move. Afraid it all might be just a dream like he had had so many times before. "Brianna?" Jason asked, not sure if she was real or not. "Hi." That was all she could think to say in that moment as she stood to face him. "I'm sorry." He choked out as the tears started burning his eyes. Seeing him start to cry made all the tears Courtney was holding back start to flow. "I'm sorry too." She sobbed as she ran into his arms. His lips caught hers as they stood in the middle of Sonny and Carly's living room crying, kissing and holding onto each other for dear life.

Carly and Sonny both stood there in complete shock. Their mouths were both dropped and they couldn't believe what they were seeing. How did they know each other? Both wondering at the same time. Then it dawned on Carly! "Oh my God, Jason is the one that you married!" Stunned at Carly's outburst Courtney and Jason both looked at her. Then Jason used to Carly's outbursts ignored her and said, "My God Brianna I can't believe it's really you. After you left, I tried to follow you, find you, but it's like you just disappeared." He told her still stunned he was holding his wife after all these years. "I did, until a couple weeks ago." She told him. Jason, looking the slightest bit confused raised an eyebrow at her, "How I don't understand." "The only reason I came back on anyone's radar was because I booked my flight here under my other name. That's how Lorenzo got ahold of me. He was waiting for that name to pop up somewhere." Knowing she just opened yet another can of worms she would have to explain to Sonny. "Other name? What are you talking about Bri? He stepped back from her waiting for her to start talking. "Ok, it's not as bad as it sounds. When you met me, I had been working for Lorenzo for a few months. I had changed my name when I was in California. I wanted to reinvent myself. Be someone else for awhile. I guess I was running from the mistakes I made as a kid. I just wasn't happy with me anymore, I needed a change. Then when I started working for Alcazr, I knew someday I would need to get out. I didn't want anyone to be able to find me. The name I used in California is legal, birth certificate, social, the whole 9 yards. I'm basically two different people. Confusing I know but it was better that way. Same way I used Brianna instead of Courtney when I came here. I don't want anyone to find me." She told Jason, pleading with him to understand. Then Sonny spoke up, breaking the silence between them. "Lorenzo? Alcazar? You work for Lorenzo Alcazar? Sonny asked, getting more frustrated that Courtney wasn't answering his questions. Jason smiled down at her understanding why she did what she had to do but anxious to hear the whole story, and placed a small kiss on the tip of her nose, then he looked at Sonny. "Look Sonny, Carly, I know that there are a lot of unanswered questions. So, let's just sit down and talk about this. Courtney went over to sit on the couch with Carly and Jason surprised her by sitting right next to her.

Courtney took a deep breath and began to tell the 3 of them everything. "Well let's see, I guess the best place to start is at the beginning." Courtney said looking at her sister. "My parents and I found Carly a little over 10 years ago. Dad knew he had another daughter, that was never a secret in our house. When we found her, I was thrilled. Being an only child isn't all it's cracked up to be. After Carly and I got to know one another she went off to college in California, L.A. specifically. I talked my parent's into letting me move in with her and attend college out there myself. We had a wonderful time." Carly smiled remembering some of the antics they got into while in college. Courtney continued. "One day Carly was in classes all day so I took off for the day. I found myself in a bar, long story short, someone drugged me. That's when I met Lorenzo. He got me out of the bar and took care of me until I could think clearly again. I asked him how I could repay his kindness and he offered me a job. I accepted, not knowing at the time what the job was. I kept up with my story and told him my name was Brianna, but that I had lost everything when that guy drugged me and stole my purse. He offered to pay for getting the items I needed replaced. He has never known my real name. I went back to the apartment the next day and told Carly that she had to lie for me. All she had to do was tell mom and dad I was fine, just busy with school if they ever asked why I never called." She looked apologetically at her sister. "I left L.A. for San Francisco that night. Lorenzo taught me everything I needed to know. I found that I loved the work. It wasn't the career path I would've thought if choosing for myself but I can't lie. I love the rush of it. I became pretty good at it." Courtney paused to take a drink of the scotch. "Except for tailing people." Jason said and laughed at the memory. "Yea except maybe that." Cortney giggled. "So, you work for Lorenzo Alcazar? Sonny asked again, making sure to get an answer this time. "Not anymore, he paid me and left town." Courtney told him." Are you sure he's not playing you?" Sonny asked, taking a long drink of his scotch, still trying to wrap his mind around this. "No Sonny he's not. Lorenzo knows everything about me, well Brianna, he knows I'm married to Jason. He knows I'm Carly's sister, but he thinks it's Bri. He's never found out that I'm Courtney Matthews, he never had any reason to doubt me and even if he did it wouldn't matter. He knows he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of competing with you now. He left, I checked. If you still don't believe me I can tell you where he went. Send Jason after him if you want, but you really have no reason too. He's gone." Courtney told him getting rather annoyed at her brother in law. "If he comes after me, your sister, or any other reason to be on my radar you will have to answer for it." Sonny told his sister in law, not completely trusting everything she was saying as easily as Jason did. "I realize that Sonny. I get it, I need to prove my loyalty to you. I am, I will. If Lorenzo comes back to New York I will take care of it myself." Courtney told him. Her tone had changed, all business. No emotion, cold, calculated, it gave Carly chills. She had never seen the business side of her sister. So, close to Jason, colder even, they would be a force to be reckoned with together she thought. "Good. We will finish this discussion tomorrow."

"Ok, Court, why did you get married? I would assume that you got married because you loved him and you went through hell to get him. But why did you get married?" She asked changing the subject. "We got married because I was pregnant!" "Oh my God! Why didn't you ever tell me?" Carly asked stunned. "I needed to sort out what I wanted to do. I had to know if I wanted Jason and the whole mob life involved with my family. Ultimately the choice I made was to not have you guys involved."

Sonny just sat there and listened very intently at what Courtney was saying. The way she was saying everything just didn't add up. He had a feeling that there was more to what she was saying and she just wasn't telling them yet.  
"Anyway, we were very happy with our lives. We were happily married, expecting a baby, and I was away from Alcazar. Then tragedy came." She paused a took a deep breath, not wanting to relive the loss. Jason sensed her discomfort and put his arm around her gently rubbing her back. "Courtney, it will be ok. We need to tell Carly and Sonny about the baby." "Our baby." He said under his breath as he started to think back to the day their little baby girl was born.

 _Flashback_

 _Courtney was 5 and a half months pregnant and Jason couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was, even though she was like 20 lbs. heavier. Jason however, never thought she looked more beautiful. They were laying on the couch holding one another while watching "Dirty Dancing" Courtney's all-time favorite movie. Then all the sudden she shot up out of his arms and grabbed her stomach. "Oh God Jason it hurts so bad!" "A contraction." He said starting to really worry. "Yea and it doesn't feel right. Call Dr. Villarreal, I think something is wrong, this doesn't feel right. "K honey, just hold on." He hurried and called the doctor's home number. The doctor had given it to them in case of an emergency. "Ok Brianna, he said to get you to the hospital right away, he will meet us there. Can you walk?" He asked worried. "Yea I can walk. Let's just go. We can't lose this baby." As they drove to the hospital Courtney's contractions began to get worse. She kept jumping around in the seat next to Jason and trying to grab his arm. Almost causing him to wreck twice. They finally arrived at the hospital and went straight up to the labor and delivery ward where Dr. Villarreal was waiting for them. "Hey Brianna, what's going on?" He said as he practically picked her up and rushed her into the delivery room. "Jason and I were just watching a movie and then I started having severe pain. Is the baby going to be ok?"_ _"Well that is what we are going to check. I'm going to give you an ultrasound and we'll see what we've got."_ _They got Courtney undressed and hooked up to the monitors. She looked so tiny laying in the bed with all the machines around her. Jason couldn't help but fear the worst for their unborn baby. As Dr. Villarreal did the ultrasound he said "Well it looks like we've got a baby girl. Have you picked out any names yet?" He asked not wanting to tell them what had to happen. "Well we've thought about it but we haven't made a final decision on anything yet. Why should we?"_ _"Well, Brianna, Jason, it looks like your baby has moved into a position that she can't get out of. Unfortunately, she has also in the process wrapped the umbilical cord around her neck. Her oxygen supply is very low. I'm not really sure why you started to contract, I would just say that it is preterm labor, but with the cord wrapped around her neck we have two options."_

Flashback to be continued...

Everyone sat there and listened to Courtney tell her story. Carly was almost crying uncontrollably listening to the pain her sister was in. and Sonny sat there and kept rubbing his forehead trying to hold back tears. They could both see the pain in Courtney and Jason as they were reliving what would ultimately be the most tragic day in both their lives.

Carly seeing the pain in Courtney's eyes said to her, "Court, honey, you don't have to finish this is you don't want too. I get the just of what happened to your baby and I'm sorry." "No Carly, I have to finish this, it will help me get it off my chest and it will also help me explain to Jason why I left." "You never told him you were leaving?" she said shocked. "No, I was a real chicken, all I left him was a note. Now please let me finish this before I can't do it. I have to finish telling you this so I can go home with Jason and tell him what happened to bring me here." They all nodded in agreement that Courtney should finish her story. Courtney sat back on the couch as Jason put his arms around her and held her tightly not wanting to let go. Jason told himself that he was going to hold onto Courtney, now that she was back in his life and never let her go.

 _Flashback_

" _With the cord wrapped around her neck we have two options." Dr. Villarreal said as he finished up the picture of the baby he was currently working on. "What are our options Doc?" Jason asked as he squeezed Courtney's hand. "Well," Dr. Villarreal said sighing, "we can just sit back and wait to see if she happens to move on her own and get the cord out from around her neck and then hopefully stop your contractions. Or, we can just go ahead and deliver now. The only thing that worries me, is this. No matter which option we decide to go with at this point will ultimately result in the premature birth of your baby, and at only 22 weeks, I'm going to be honest here, the odds are not in her favor." The doctor said, he never liked delivering that kind of news to expectant parents. "If we have to deliver now, what are the chances that the baby will survive?" " Well guys, unfortunately the chances are going to be very small. Given the fact that you are only 22 weeks along and that her oxygen supply is already low. The chances don't look very good. We will give you steroid shots before your delivery to at least try to help her lungs develop a little more. Now the only choice we have to make is whether you want to deliver now or wait and see what that little girl decides to do on her own." Courtney and Jason just looked at one another and they both nodded in agreement. "We'll wait and see what she will do on her own." Jason said to the doctor. "Alright then, that will be fine, but I should warn you that I can only give you 4 hrs. and if there are any signs of distress before then, then we deliver right then, ok?" Dr. Villarrreal said as he raised his eyebrow with concern at the them. "Alright." They both nodded in agreement. As they sat there in disbelief of the fact that they were going to lose their precious baby girl. Courtney looked at Jason and slowly gave him a weak smile. "So we should probably pick out a name for her then huh?" She said holding back the tears. "Yea I guess we should. Did you have anything in mind?" "Not really, what about Christine Renee'? After me and your mother. "Yea, it's perfect. I couldn't think of anything better to name our little girl." Just as they kissed on the fact that they had named their baby the doctor walked in. "Ok Brianna, Jason, it's time, her oxygen level isn't getting any better and_ _she is starting to go into distress. We don't even have time for a vaginal delivery, we have to take you O.R. right away for a Cesarean."_

 _End Flashback_

As Courtney got to the part of the story where she was about to relive the birth of her daughter she started to cry uncontrollably and she couldn't go on. They all just sat there in silence. Carly, Courtney and Jason all in tears and Sonny was on the verge of crying himself. Courtney got up and went to the window and looked out. Just then Jason came up behind her and put his arms around her. "Hey Bri, you ok?" "Yea I'm ok, I just can't believe that I'm here with you and that you actually want to try to work things out after what I've done to you." "Look Court, I've had quite a lot of time to think about what you did, it doesn't matter. I love you and I always have, nothing is going to change that. We do have a lot to talk about though. It will take some time but we will find each other again."

Jason led Courtney back over to the couch from the window. She held her face in her hands and wiped the stray tears from under her eyes as she prepared to take all of them back through her delivery. "I don't know if I can do this? It's all just so painful, and I hate reliving it." "Courtney, if you don't mind me saying, you have to talk about it or you will never get over it. That is how it was when my first wife died. She was carrying our child. It took me a long time to talk about it, but when I did start talking about it, it made me feel a whole lot better about the whole thing." Sonny told her. "I know I need to do this, but it is just so hard to do." "Courtney, you have me right here beside you and I'm not going anywhere. Just like when it happened, I'll never leave your side. I'm always going to be here for you." He said with that reassuring smile of his. "Ok, since you put it that way, here it goes. Let's see, where did we leave off...right, at my delivery.

 _Flashback_

 _As they wheeled Courtney into the O.R. all she could do was cry. She knew that no matter what happened her and Jason were going to lose their baby. Jason left her for like 5 min. as he went with the doctor to scrub up so he could go into the delivery room too. The doctor walked in after about 5 min. with Jason right at his heels. After he went to Courtney's feet and Jason sat beside her head Dr. Villarreal said "Courtney we're ready ok? We're going to make the first incision." Courtney took a deep breath and felt the relief of pressure in her abdomen as all the fluid from around her baby was released out of her. Then there was the incision into the uterus, and with a little whine because of the pressure she felt her baby emerging from her womb. It was the best feeling and the worst feeling in her life all at the same time._ _Courtney immediately started to cry. "We have a baby girl, here's Christine you two. With everything intact, 10 fingers and 10 toes." "Thanks doc, you've given us a miracle, without you this never would've happened." Jason said as he cut the umbilical cord. "There's no need to thank me Jason, the miracle was yours and Brianna's I just delivered her. Now I need to speak with you outside." "OK, Brianna I need to speak to the doctor for a second ok?" Courtney half muttered an ok as she drifted off into an emotional sleep._

 _Outside the OR Dr. Villarreal looked at Jason sympathetically. "Jason, after the doctors get done with Christine they will give her back to you. My advice is that you and Brianna spend as much time with her as possible. I really can't tell you how much time Christine has left. She was blue when I delivered her and she wasn't breathing. The doctors will get her breathing again but after that I really don't know. I will get Courtney cleaned up and then I will have her transferred to a room. Then you and Brianna can be the parents you were meant to be, without any interruptions." "Thanks Dr. Villarreal. I really appreciate everything that you have done and I know that you tried your best to save our little girl." As Jason went to walk back in to be with his wife Dr. Villarreal stopped him on last time. "Jason, there is one more thing. It is going to be a matter of when not if...so, when Christine stops breathing I want you to call the nurse and just let her know that it has happened. Try to keep Brianna from panicking and if you can then you and Brianna can keep Christine in your room as long as you wish." "Thanks again doc, I will do my best to keep everything under control." Jason said as he walked back into be with his wife._

 _Dr. Villarreal walked back in and started to wipe off Courtney's legs and sit her up in a wheelchair. "The pediatrician has Christine ready for you so I will take you to your room now." Dr. Villarreal said as he started to wheel_ _Courtney down the hall and to her room. When they got there the nurse was already there with their baby girl. The nurse immediately handed Courtney her daughter and then left the room. "God Jason look at her, she is beautiful. She has your eyes and my nose." she sort of laughed at that comment she had made about her daughter. "Brianna there is something that we need to talk about. Dr. Villarreal said that we don't have much time with Christine. He said that it is a matter of when not if Christine will quit breathing. Now, if that happens we are to call the nurse and let her know that it has happened but you can stay calm, then we can keep her in here with us for as long as we want to." "Jason, I don't know if I can hold her once she's not breathing. I don't know if I can hold my dead baby!" She said almost bursting out in tears. "Then we will decide that when the time comes."_

 _They both sat there for the longest time just looking at their daughter. She was so beautiful, and they couldn't believe that something so beautiful could come from them. Then finally after about 2 hrs. of bragging on and holding their daughter, she took her last breath, in Courtney's arms. Jason immediately called the nurse and had her come get Christine, Courtney couldn't bear to hold her once she had stopped breathing. They gave Courtney a sedative and went to take the baby from her. Jason stopped them. "Wait, I'd like to hold my daughter, there are a few things I would like for her to know. I'll bring Christine to you when I'm finished." The nurse nodded then turned around and left the room._

 _Jason sat there in the chair and held his daughter. She was so still she almost looked as if she was sleeping. Her eyes were lightly closed and a small smile was imbedded on her lips. Jason told her how much her mommy and daddy loved her and kissed her one final time before taking her to the nurse so the nurse could take her to the morgue._

 _He stood there with his hands in his face and cried for his little girl and the loss that he had just suffered. He cried for Brianna who couldn't cry anymore from exhaustion. But most of all he cried for Christine who would never know life._

 _End Flashback_

They all just sat there in shock and hurt as Courtney finished her story. Courtney had finally stopped crying and was finally starting to come around and act more like herself. "Sorry about that guys, I don't know what came over me. I've never broke down like that before over Christine I guess it just has been a long time since I talked about it. "It's ok Courtney, we're all here for you and we all feel your pain. We all love you." Jason said and looked deep into her eyes. "I know you all love me. Carly, do you mind if I go with Jason, he and I have a lot to talk about." "Courtney, why would I mind after all he is your husband, and besides if you're going with him you'll just be going across the hall." Courtney just stared at her with a blank look on her face. "You mean to tell me all the time that I've been here Jason has just been right across the hall!" "Yea, now why don't you two go over there and get your marriage back together like I know you both want to."

They both laughed and nodded in agreement. Courtney and Jason both stood up, Carly and Courtney hugged and Sonny hugged Jason then they both walked out the door. They went over to Jason's penthouse and Courtney walked into the door. Now all she had to do was to get Jason to understand why she left and why she married her 2nd husband then everything would be ok.  
As they walked into the penthouse Jason picked Courtney up and carried her over to the couch. As he sat her down she giggled and kissed his cheek. He returned the kiss with a little more passion. "Just a sec Jason. We have a lot that we need to talk about. "Like what?" Jason said, seeing if she would bring the business up again. "Like the fact that I worked for your enemy. The fact that I don't want to exactly give up my work. I would like a chance to meet with Sonny and prove myself. I think we would make an awesome team. Also, I need to explain to you why I left and what has happened in the years I went back home." Courtney said, knowing this part of the conversation wasn't going to be pleasant. "Ok, Brianna, are you sure you still want to work in this environment? It's dangerous, you know that. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you doing this. What if, a few years from now, we want to start a family? Then what? You know this isn't the type of job you can just quite if you get pregnant." Jason said concerned. "Jason, don't you think your jumping the gun just a bit? We just found each other again. With everything I've been through, the last thing I want to think about right now is marriage and kids." She said, knowing where that would lead the conversation. "What do you mean Bri?" Jason asked. Wondering how the mention of marriage and having kids could've set her off.

"Jason, when I went back home after we lost Christine, I went back to school and started dating. I dated a guy in my class and got pregnant. It scared the life out of me to think I could lose another baby but I didn't. I had a healthy baby boy. Then I left his father after he became controlling and mentally abusive. When my son was 3 I met a man, who accepted my son and we fell in love and got engaged. We had a daughter shortly after we got married. A couple of months ago we were heading to my in law's for a visit and a semi-truck lost control and plowed into the gas station where we stopped. I was inside while my husband and the kids were in the car. The semi hit our car head on. I lost my husband and both my kids. After the funeral is when I decided to change my name back to Brianna, leaving the memories of Courtney, my husband and my kids behind and come here. I need a fresh start, yes, I know in a way I'm running, but that's how I need to deal with this. Besides all the real me holds is an abusive relationship that I'm still dealing with and loss of people I love. I will tell my parent's eventually, but I really think I want to put Courtney behind me and officially change my name to Brianna. Yes, we suffered loss too but Brianna holds so much more for me. She has accomplished something in her life. It may not be ideal, but she has a job she loves, people around who care and accept her for who she is and the prospect of starting a great relationship with a wonderful man." She said as she squeezed Jason's hand and lightly kissed his cheek. "Bri, are you sure? That's a lot of change in a very short time. I have no problem with it, but Courtney is who you are, who you truly are. Brianna is an alternate persona you invented to keep people from the real you. I feel like if you legally make these changes you are cheating yourself and everyone around you from knowing the real you. Including me, I want the chance to get to know and possibly fall in love with the real you, Courtney." He said her real name for the first time, surprised at how easily it rolled off his tongue. Surprised to hear him call her by her real name and excited how good it sounded when he said it. "Jason, are you sure you want to get to know the real me? I've been through so much, I'm still dealing with the effects of the mental abuse and it's been almost 6 years. Also, the loss of my family. That's a lot to ask you to take on." She said concerned. "Yes Courtney." He said her real name again. "I'm sure. I will stand by you and help you get through whatever it is you need to work through. Let's just take things slow, one day at a time." He said as he lightly kissed her cheek. Seeing she was getting tired after the events of the day he just curled up with her on the couch and let her drift off to sleep as he held her in his arms. "One day at a time." He whispered in her ear as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.


End file.
